[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1176 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1176

  To improve the provision of health care and services to veterans in 
                    Hawaii, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 7, 2005

   Mr. Akaka introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To improve the provision of health care and services to veterans in 
                    Hawaii, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Neighbor Islands Veterans Health 
Care Improvements Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. VET CENTER ENHANCEMENTS.

    (a) Additional Counselors for Certain Clinics.--The Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs shall assign an additional counselor to each vet 
center as follows:
            (1) The vet center on the Island of Maui, Hawaii.
            (2) The vet center in Hilo, Hawaii.
    (b) Establishment of New Vet Center.--The Secretary shall establish 
and operate a new vet center on the Island of Oahu, Hawaii, at a 
location to be selected by the Secretary.
    (c) Vet Center Defined.--In this section, the term ``vet center'' 
means a center for the provision of readjustment counseling and related 
mental health services for veterans under section 1712A of title 38, 
United States Code.

SEC. 3. HEALTH CARE CLINICS.

    (a) Establishment of Clinics.--
            (1) Satellite clinics.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
        shall establish and operate a satellite health care clinic at a 
        location selected by the Secretary on each island as follows:
                    (A) The Island of Lanai, Hawaii.
                    (B) The Island of Molokai, Hawaii.
            (2) Medical care clinic.--The Secretary may establish and 
        operate a medical care clinic at a location selected by the 
        Secretary on the west side of the Island of Kauai, Hawaii.
    (b) Elements of Satellite Clinics.--Each satellite clinic 
established under subsection (a)(1) shall include--
            (1) a vet center, which shall provide readjustment 
        counseling and related mental health services for veterans 
        under section 1712A of title 38, United States Code; and
            (2) a community based outpatient clinic (CBOC), which shall 
        provide to veterans--
                    (A) the medical services and other health-care 
                related services provided by community based outpatient 
                clinics operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs; 
                and
                    (B) such other care and services as the Secretary 
                considers appropriate.
    (c) Staffing and Other Resources.--
            (1) Satellite clinics.--(A) The staff of the satellite 
        clinics established under subsection (a)(1) shall be derived 
        from staff of the vet center, and of the community based 
        outpatient clinic, on the Island of Maui, Hawaii, who shall be 
        assigned by the Secretary to such satellite clinics under this 
        section. In making such assignments, the Secretary may not 
        reduce the size of the staff of the vet center, or of the 
        community based outpatient clinic, on the Island of Maui below 
        its size as of the date of the enactment of this Act.
            (B) Each satellite clinic established under subsection 
        (a)(1) shall have a computer system of nature and quality 
        equivalent to the computer systems of the community based 
        outpatient clinics operated by the Department, including the 
        capability to conduct medical tracking.
            (C) Each satellite clinic established under subsection 
        (a)(1) shall have appropriate telemedicine equipment.
            (2) Medical care clinic.--The medical care clinic 
        established under subsection (a)(2) shall have such staff as 
        the Secretary considers appropriate for its activities.
    (d) Hours of Operation.--
            (1) Satellite clinics.--Each satellite clinic established 
        under subsection (a)(1) shall have hours of operation each week 
        determined by the Secretary. The number of hours so determined 
        for a week shall consist of a number of hours equivalent to not 
        less than three working days in such week.
            (2) Medical care clinic.--The medical care clinic 
        established under subsection (a)(2) shall have such hours of 
        operation as the Secretary considers appropriate for its 
        activities.

SEC. 4. LONG-TERM CARE.

    (a) Medical Care Foster Program.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
shall establish and operate on the Island of Oahu, Hawaii, a medical 
care foster program. The program shall be established utilizing as a 
model the Medical Care Foster Program at the Center Arkansas Veterans 
Health Care System of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
    (b) Additional Clinical Staff for Non-Institutional Long-Term 
Care.--
            (1) Assignment of staff.--The Secretary shall assign to the 
        community based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) of the Department of 
        Veterans Affairs referred to in paragraph (2) such additional 
        clinical staff as the Secretary considers appropriate in order 
        to ensure that such clinics provide non-institutional long-term 
        care for veterans in accordance with the provisions of subtitle 
        A of title I of the Veterans Millennium Health Care and 
        Benefits Act (Public Law 106-117) and the amendments made by 
        such provisions. Such additional clinical staff shall include a 
        home health nurse.
            (2) Covered community based outpatient clinics.--The 
        community based outpatient clinics referred to in this 
        paragraph are the community based outpatient clinics as 
        follows:
                    (A) The community based outpatient clinic in Hilo, 
                Hawaii.
                    (B) The community based outpatient clinic on the 
                Island of Kauai, Hawaii.
                    (C) The community based outpatient clinic in Kona, 
                Hawaii.
                    (D) The community based outpatient clinic on the 
                Island of Maui, Hawaii.

SEC. 5. MENTAL HEALTH CARE.

    (a) Establishment of Mental Health Center.--The Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs shall establish and operate in Hilo, Hawaii, at an 
appropriate location selected by the Secretary, a new center for the 
provision of mental health care and services to veterans.
    (b) Care and Treatment Available Through Center.--The mental health 
center established under subsection (a) shall provide the following:
            (1) Day mental health care and treatment.
            (2) Outpatient mental health care and treatment.
            (3) Such other mental health care and treatment as the 
        Secretary considers appropriate.
    (c) Staff.--The mental health center established under subsection 
(a) shall have as its staff a drug abuse counselor, a nurse 
practitioner, and such other staff as the Secretary considers 
appropriate for its activities.

SEC. 6. STUDY ON ACCESS TO SPECIALIZED CARE AND FEE-BASIS CARE.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall carry out 
a study of the demand for, and access to, specialized care and fee-
basis care from the Department of Veterans Affairs for veterans on the 
neighbor islands of Hawaii, including whether or not the specialized 
care or fee-basis care, as the case may be, available to veterans from 
the Department on the neighbor islands is adequate to meet the demands 
of veterans for such care.
    (b) Report.--Not later than six months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on 
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives a 
report on the study required by subsection (a). The report shall set 
forth the results of the study and include such recommendations for 
legislative or administrative action as the Secretary considers 
appropriate in light of the study.

SEC. 7. CONSTRUCTION OF MENTAL HEALTH CENTER AT TRIPLER ARMY MEDICAL 
              CENTER, HAWAII.

    (a) Authorization of Major Medical Facility Project.--The Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs may carry out a major medical facility project for 
the construction of a mental health center at Tripler Army Medical 
Center, Hawaii, in the amount of $10,000,000.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated to 
        the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 2006 for the 
        Construction, Major Projects, account, $10,000,000 for the 
        project authorized by subsection (a).
            (2) Limitation.--The project authorized by subsection (a) 
        may only be carried out using--
                    (A) funds appropriated for fiscal year 2006 
                pursuant to the authorization of appropriations in 
                paragraph (1);
                    (B) funds appropriated for Construction, Major 
                Projects, for a fiscal year before fiscal year 2006 
                that remain available for obligation; and
                    (C) funds appropriated for Construction, Major 
                Projects, for fiscal year 2006 for a category of 
                activity not specific to a project.
    (c) Facilities.--The facilities at the mental health center 
authorized to be constructed by subsection (a) shall include 
residential rehabilitation beds for patients with Post Traumatic Stress 
Disorder (PTSD) and such other facilities as the Secretary considers 
appropriate.

SEC. 8. FUNDING.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 2006 
such sums as may be necessary to carry out sections 2 through 6.
    (b) Availability.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the 
authorization of appropriations in subsection (a) shall be available 
only to carry out sections 2 through 6.
    (c) Construction With Other Funding for Health Care for Veterans in 
Hawaii.--It is the sense of Congress that the amount authorized to be 
appropriated by subsection (a) for fiscal year 2006 should--
            (1) supplement amounts authorized to be appropriated to the 
        Secretary of Veterans Affairs for that fiscal year for health 
        care for veterans in Hawaii for activities other than those 
        specified in sections 2 through 6; and
            (2) not result in any reduction in the amount that would 
        have been appropriated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for 
        that fiscal year for health care for veterans in Hawaii for 
        such activities had the amount in subsection (a) not been 
        authorized to be appropriated.
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